noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A trombone with the reed and bocal of a bassoon placed instead of the usual mouthpiece, which combines the limitations of both instruments, producing a loud comical sound.
2. 2
   An awkward union of disparate elements combining the disadvantages of both.

Etymology

Blend of trombone + bassoon, humorously coined by composer Peter Schickele, attributed to fictitious composer P. D. Q. Bach.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.